31 Márta 2014, 10:20
The Oireachtas Joint Committee on European Union Affairs will tomorrow hear from Minister for European Affairs Paschal Donohoe TD on an important report on Ireland’s economic progress, which will feed into the pan-European budgetary process.
Minister Donohoe will discuss the 2014 draft National Reform Programme for Ireland with the Committee. Reflecting the relevance of the discussion across a range of Government Departments, Members from other Oireachtas Committees are expected to be in attendance.
Chairman of the Committee Dominic Hannigan TD says: “The Committee has been closely following the implementation of the European Semester in 2014, which involves Member States aligning their budgetary and economic policies with the objectives and rules agreed at EU level. Following the expected adoption of EU-level guidance at the March Summit, Member States are preparing their National Reform Programme for submission to the European Commission on 15 April.
“In what is one of the key points for Oireachtas engagement in this important process, Minister Donohoe’s presence tomorrow will provide an opportunity to discuss this comprehensive document. Colleagues from other Oireachtas Committees have been invited to contribute to this debate, which reviews Ireland's progress towards reaching its targets under the key areas outlined in the Europe 2020 Strategy, such as Employment, R&D, Education, Climate Change and Poverty.”
Separately, the Committee will hear from Cllr Constance Hannify, member of the Irish Delegation to the Committee of the Regions (CoR).
Deputy Hannigan continues: “European Union policymaking is guided by the principle of subsidiarity, meaning that decisions should be taken as closely as possible to the citizen. The Committee of the Regions, which comprises 344 local and regional representatives from across the Union, is an important institution to ensure that the views, experiences and concerns of local and regional assemblies are fed into EU policy. Tomorrow, the Committee will hear from the Irish Delegation representative Cllr Constance Hannify on how the CoR is feeding into the European Semester Process.”
The meeting takes place tomorrow Tuesday 1 April at 2 pm in Committee Room 1, LH 2000 and can be viewed online here:
Committee proceedings can also be viewed on the move, through the Houses of the Oireachtas Smartphone App, available for Apple and Android devices.
Media enquiries to:
Paul Hand,
Communications Unit,
Houses of the Oireachtas,
Leinster House,
Dublin 2
P: +3531 618 4484
M: +353 87 694 9926
Committee Membership
Deputies: Eric Byrne, Seán Crowe, Timmy Dooley, Bernard J. Durkan, John Halligan, Dominic Hannigan (Chair), Seán Kyne, Dara Murphy (Vice-Chair) and Joe O’Reilly
Senators: Colm Burke, Aideen Hayden, Terry Leyden, Catherine Noone and Kathryn Reilly